A man was arrested and accused of setting his own car on fire outside the Larson Justice Center, Indio police said.
Firefighters and police responded around 1:02 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, to a car fully engulfed in flames near the courthouse entrance on Oasis Street in Indio. No one was found in or around the vehicle.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze and determined it had been intentionally set, according to a press release from Indio police spokesperson Sgt. Abe Plata.
At about 3:29 a.m., officers were called to a gas station in the 82-000 block of Indio Boulevard, where a 41-year-old man “refused to leave” and was reported to be carrying a firearm. Police detained the man, who was found with an unloaded handgun. Investigators later determined he owned the burned vehicle and linked him to the arson, Plata said.
The man was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center on suspicion of multiple felony charges related to arson.
Jennifer Cortez covers education in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at jennifer.cortez@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Man sets his own car on fire by Indio courthouse, police say